30 July: received the e-mail “call for submissions” from the editor. I already had an idea along the lines of the issue’s theme, so I got to work.

11 Aug: mailed in a swatch and 2-page proposal.

8 Sept: received e-mail acceptance letter: “We would like to use your ‘Peek Through the Windows’ vest design for the spring 2010 issue of Cast On magazine.” (wow! eek!)

12 Sept: received the yarns selected by the committee: Cascade 220 in cream and deep teal.

somebody *really* loves this yarn

Balled up the yarn (with a little {ahem} help) .

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17 Sept: confirmed new color-arrangements by sending in a photo of new swatch.

Swatch with new yarn and colorways

(They want the green over cream.)

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Began writing stuff down and cast on.

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Realized I didn’t know enough about how the pattern stitch was going to fit into the armhole and neckline shaping, so I went to the blackboard — my favorite place for figuring out stitch-counts.

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Came up with the bare-bones of shaping and how to keep the 3-and-1 color rhythm centered. Worked a doll-sized swatch with shaping. Found where I want beginning-of-round to fall (and where it does *not* look good

Figured out cast-on and bind-off and join-up numbers, by means of another chart and a calculator.

Ripped back the 5 rounds I’d already done, gently steamed the yarn to get rid of the kinks, and re-cast-on. Then re-figured, backed up most of 1 round and added 8 more stitches, realized I’d still acted too soon and backed up again (this time only a handful stitches — Learning!) and took those 8 extra stitches back out.

Now I’ve got 160 stitches cast on, joined into the round, and ready to proceed — this time with a much more definite plan in mind (and on paper!). Hurrying can be such a time-waster!

I got a pretty nice photo of me wearing the Nuance hat and scarf, in front of the maple tree in our front yard.

I included this image as I updated my Finished Object page — see sidebar. Documentation can be a fun project in itself, and helps me feel like I’ve accomplished something when I might otherwise feel I’m just on a treadmill of activity. It’s also quite helpful when the County Fair rolls around, so I can tell which items were completed between the Sept 1’s.

Chloe has been helping me with my photos lately. Here she is, as close to modeling as she’s likely to get, with an alpaca baby hat and an elementary-school sized “28-Hour Cap”. (Gotta write up that pattern!!)

Teen-genius filmed me finishing the green cap with a Tubular/Grafting/Kitchener bind-off. Once he edits it, we’ll post it to my YouTube page: www.YouTube.com/MtMomDesigns . (or, try clicking on one of the sidebar links to a paricular video)

Here’s the newest charity project. I’m calling it the “Fiery Eyelash Scarf”. Yarns are Patons Shetland Chunky and Bernat Boa, and needles are fat 17’s. Held together, these yarns wanted to be BIG long stitches, so I’m double-wrapping the 2-strand rows, and working one garter ridge of just the smooth yarn in between double-wrapped rows. I hope to get better photos, with better color, as the work progresses — light was getting low when I shot this one — also with help, as you see. There is some hope that I’ll finish this in time for the second weekend of the Craft Sale — Julie likes to have fresh stock to lay out then. This bulky scarf progresses quickly. We shall see.

And, “what about the Fair Isle sampler?,” you ask.

The first set of motifs is just about finished — 3rd round from now will be the one where I change the original pattern to make the motifs interlock and interchange MC and CC.

The yarn has changed color again, this time from turquoise to purple, and it turns out to be nicely centered with the brightest color on the center rounds, making it seem to “glow”. Nice, eh? (Also more white on those rounds.) A very different look from the bands with deep oranges and greens, just below. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it looks with several vertical repeats!

I *can* show you some balling of tentative yarn, with the “help” of my feline companion, Chloe.

She has actually been showing much more restraint when it comes to the swift. Of course, once the yarn is balled up — if you look away — she swipes it!

When I learned that the deadline for SockMadness pattern submissions was nearer than I’d realized, I put Lord Scott’s kilt hose on hold and dove in to my stash of ideas and sock yarns. Currently the “front burner” idea involves . . .

— wait for it —

. . . BEADS!

But, of course, I can’t show you much in the way of photos. [sigh]

Here is how far I’d gotten on Lord Scott’s socks, when he tried them on and I saw where I need to make alterations (after I finish the SM3 design).

Need to taper the toe and widen the instep. Yep, that means ripping — from both ends! But he likes them, and that’s good news. Haven’t made a final decision on the cuff pattern yet.

My own (prototype) hose are just into the calf-shaping.

I’m increasing on either side of a central k3 rib, that itself arose from a k1. We shall see!

If I like it, I may shape more pairs similarly, but I’ll probably shape Scott’s in a more “tradtitional” way with no “spacer” between increases. Not sure yet. That’s why I’m working these first — to learn and try.

I’ve been so disappointed that *no one* has even hazarded a guess on my movie trivia question! How about some more hints? One film is a horror-musical-tragedy (2007), the other a campy outer space-comedy (2000). If no one comes close this week, I’ll reveal the titles and see if anyone can then come up with the common factor (and reason I tracked these particular films down to watch).

I’ve finished the Easter Egg blue/lavender cap, but haven’t found a child small enough to model it yet, so no new photo. But I did make a video of 2 circular cast-ons using the same yarns (that link to YouTube will open in a new window — or click the copy of the video embedded below). I plan to add links to other technique-demonstration videos in the sidebar — Watch This Space!

Progress on both my Samplers. In my Feitelson band of the Fair Isle sampler, I’ve reached the center line where vertical symmetry kicks in. Working on this project makes me think of God creating the physical world: maybe He could have done a quick-&-dirty job, but He took the time to put in such an incredible degree of detail. He made Beauty just ‘cus. Here’s my beauty-work.

Sock-top sampler is moving along as well. I’m finding this second band, a simple openwork pattern, more fun to execute than the first. More bead experimenting too: 4mm and 3 mm, blue-lined and silver-lined (more subtle), round and megatama (mango-shaped), on plain rounds and on pattern rounds, over decreases and over increases. EarthFaire is my favorite source for knittable beads.

So sorry, gentle reader, to have let the silence grow so long. Not quite sure how it happened.

Teen-genius has just returned triumphant from a trip to Minneapolis where he and his LifeSmarts teammates represented Arizona in the national competition and won “the whole enchiliada”! They each received lots of prizes, including an iPhone and a $1200 Savings Bond. Plus, they had a Really Good Time (hooray!). I have personally benefited from his haul to the tune of one floral-designed totebag and several Band-Aids. [Long story, involving a cat, a dog, a fence, and a dermatologist.]

I have spent some time lately in adding a broad range of sizes to my 3-Color Spiral Cap pattern. The new version is not posted yet — still fine tuning and testing. I am working toward having kits to sell online. [That’s right — yes — for money! A first for Mt. Mom.] Teen-genius has been working on website design, and I’ve been winding yarns and assembling the kits for (so far) two colorways. Since each hat requires 3 yarns, I thought some knitters might appreciate the convenience of pre-measured mini-balls. One of the gals in my knitting circle is currently test knitting one of the larger sizes, checking the clarity of the instructions and the accuracy of the suggested measurements/stitch-counts. [Ah, the business of knitweat design!]

Spring is proceeding. Remember the shot of daffodil leaves, a week or so ago? Well, here they are again, only bigger.

We also have tulips coming up.

I finished the 8-Trick Pocket Hat! Here it is, just before I grafted the top shut.

This hat has been FUN to knit! The back-join (see TECHknitting — link in sidebar)continued to give me problems, eventhough I had 4 yarn-changes to practice it on, so I varied it for the last stripe and it worked better for me that way. Went ahead and darned the ends in more securely than specified.

I, of course, immediately cast on for another project. This will be, I hope, a new colorway for my 3-Color Spiral Cap pattern (available free in PDF here and on Ravelry). I’ll try for truer colors in future photos; this is navy with medium green and light turquoise. “We’re in the Navy now…! La da da di dat ti dah.”

[BTW, see if you can spot signs of my Little Helper in each of these knitting photos!]

On the sock-design front, I have 2 sock-tops in progress: one as the beginning of a sampler to show Lord Scott some possibilities. . .